The Redskins have a very pressing decision to make at the quarterback decision.
It appears likely that the Washington Redskins will, at the very least, test the waters in the 2019 NFL Draft, when it comes to quarterbacks. They’ve already met with most of the draft’s top signal callers, and in the coming weeks, we could see more visits line up.
That said, while the Redskins have the need and the desire to start over at quarterback, they aren’t in the best position. Situated with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Redskins will likely have to trade up if they want a shot at one of the draft’s top passers. Such a proposition is an expensive venture, and it could be costly in the long run, if they don’t trade up for the right guy.
Earlier in the offseason, we broke down the film, and we assessed possible “right guys” such as Kyler Murray, Drew Lock, and Daniel Jones. Now, with one quarterback left in the 2019 pantheon to assess, let’s get back into the film. Here is our scouting report on Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins.
Scouting Dwayne Haskins
The popular first destination for those who seek to learn more about a player is the college stats. Hence, Dwayne Haskins often leaves a very good first impression. In 2018, he was a Heisman candidate, and he amassed 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions, while completing over 70 percent of his passes.
Now, after his stellar redshirt sophomore season, Haskins is a quarterback widely expected to go early in Round 1, and he’s been garnering consideration from the Washington Redskins, who seem interested in his skills.
But should they be?
On tape, Haskins’ strong suits reveal themselves fairly quickly. But so do his limitations. He’s a bright young quarterback, who shows maturity with his ability to change protections at the line on his own. He knows how to use his eyes against defenders, looking off safeties when necessary to open up seams in the defense.
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Haskins also processes the field fairly quickly, but while he shows flashes of anticipation, he’s inconsistent in this area. Too often, he throws to receivers when they’re already open, not as they’re breaking out. He can also lock onto reads occasionally (like many young quarterbacks), keying in defenders on where he’s going with the ball.
From a mental, fundamental perspective, Haskins’ best work comes in the pocket. Haskins’ footwork is solid when undisturbed, and he has a generally solid feel in the pocket, although his awareness of pressure has its lapses. He’s able to step up into lanes and keep his eyes up, and he shows brilliant flashes of this pocket manipulation on tape, resetting his feet with proficiency. He can quickly turn his shoulder off the snap, and his release is generally quick. Although his arm isn’t elastic, he’s able to adjust his arm angle accordingly, to give his throws more time and space from rushers. He can try to force dangerous throws under pressure, but we’ll get to more of that later.
As a thrower, Haskins is perhaps overhyped. He has a suitable, serviceable NFL arm; he can generate good velocity, but the effort expended in his release shows that his arm talent isn’t the best, and his compact, slightly concave throwing motion can take some air out from under the ball, causing under thrown passes in the intermediate and deep ranges.
Haskins doesn’t have the sheer arm strength to drive the ball past deep coverage consistently, and his deep passes are fairly linear; he won’t drop them into the basket with touch consistently. He doesn’t have the command and control over the ball to consistently throw his receiver open; he’s more of a general-area thrower, in that respect (although he does occasionally flash the ability to play off of receiver leverage on intermediate bullets).
Haskins’ best throws come on short dump-offs below ten yards. He’s very good with placement on short run-after-catch opportunities, and he had one of the best run-after-catch threats in the game in Parris Campbell. His ball placement on these short passes allows his receivers the opportunity to gain more yardage. These short passes may have inflated Haskins’ completion percentage, as they were a large part of Haskins’ system at Ohio State.
That said, Haskins still likes to test windows up to fifteen yards, and he can drop the ball into very tight spaces on occasion, although more often than not, he’s throwing it as the window’s closing, not as it opens. His lack of pinpoint accuracy in contested situations can also lead to defensive opportunities. Haskins can be surgical with a perfect structure in place around him, but therein lies his greatest weakness as a first-round pick.
Haskins is a quarterback who will need to be in a perfect situation in the NFL. When he’s on rhythm, and when everything goes according to plan, he’s a great distributor for an offense. But when the structure breaks, Haskins’ play is much more erratic, and he doesn’t have the skill set to transcend circumstances, as other quarterbacks in this class do.
When he has to throw off-base or on the run, Haskins’ accuracy greatly wanes. He doesn’t have the torso flexibility and arm elasticity to consistently make plays on the run, off-script. He can’t extend plays when there’s nothing there, and his inaccuracy on the run can put his receivers in vulnerable situations. His lacking mobility hinders him in this regard, and while he can occasionally scramble, if there’s enough open space, he’s not the kind of quarterback to run rollouts and bootlegs with consistency.
Other miscellaneous notes include the following: Haskins can err too far on end zone fades, when the back shoulder is preferable. He’s not often aggressive as a passer, and he lacks the downfield mindset, and the tools to make those throws consistently. He wasn’t immune to receiver drops, some of which were more costly than others (One led to an interception against Penn State). Although under-throws were somewhat frequent in the intermediate and deep ranges for Haskins, the effort used in his throwing motion also led to overthrows in shorter ranges as well. He’s not the pinpoint accurate passer his stats suggest he is.
In short, you know what you’re getting with Haskins, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. At Ohio State, he was a good distributor in a very good college system, and when all the cogs in the machine were working well, he flourished, using his smarts and short accuracy to get the ball to his playmakers. Haskins himself, however, is not a playmaker on his own.
The Draft Network seems to have Haskins around a player grade of Round 2 or Round 3, purely as a prospect, and I’d tend to agree with that placing. When everything’s going right, he’s a quarterback who can run your offense smoothly. But is he the quarterback who can elevate your offense when nothing else is working? Is he the quarterback who can transcend inevitable lapses in structure in the NFL, and put his team on his back? As efficient as he was in 2018, he wasn’t the transcendent passer in college, and he doesn’t have the developmental traits to suggest he’ll be that in the NFL.
Tape Watched
Dwayne Haskins vs. Purdue (2018)
Dwayne Haskins vs. Michigan State (2018)
Dwayne Haskins vs. Michigan (2018)
Dwayne Haskins vs. Penn State (2018)
How Dwayne Haskins fits the Redskins
Haskins fits fairly well into the west coast concepts that Jay Gruden uses frequently. Haskins likes to get the ball out quick, and he likes to throw when his receivers have some separation. With limited arm talent, the Redskins would be wise to glean some concepts from Ryan Day’s playbook at Ohio State, to make Haskins as comfortable as possible.
Comfort is important for Haskins, because when he’s uncomfortable, and when he has to go off-script, he’s not nearly as proficient. In terms of both play calling and supporting cast, the Redskins have some work to do before they can deem their situation as one that would give Haskins comfort. The offensive line still lacks a starter at left guard, and depth can be added. The receiving core is a big question mark at this point, and while Kevin O’Connell might help get the most out of his cast, to assume as such is dangerous; as long as Gruden is there, he’ll have input on play calls.
So the Redskins situation isn’t perfect for Haskins. But is Haskins even the right player for the Redskins? His weaknesses seem fairly similar to those of recent Redskins quarterbacks, weaknesses that kept them from sustaining any success. Haskins is similar to Kirk Cousins in the sense that he needs the structure to be minimally flawed, at this stage in his career. He’s also similar to Alex Smith, in the sense that he’s a good, smart distributor, but fails to live up to the occasion when asked to take more risks or make something out of nothing. In fact, the Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard made the comparison to Alex Smith for Haskins. It’s a comparison that incites worry.
Could Haskins be better than the aforementioned players? Yes, he could. But he doesn’t have the surefire upside to bank a ton of money on that possibility. His arm is good, not great, and he’s not mobile or athletic or quick on his feet. Haskins needs the structure to succeed. Are the Redskins really in the business of trading up for that kind of quarterback, after the last two didn’t work out?
Should the Redskins draft Dwayne Haskins?
As mentioned in the previous slide, this question is met with another question. Is Haskins worth trading up for? Because the Redskins would likely have to trade up to acquire him. Some mocks have him going as early as No. 6, to the Giants, and other teams could even try to leapfrog the Giants, if they’re high enough on Haskins’ mental acuity and sharpness.
For the Redskins, if you ask me, Haskins is not worth trading up for. Even if he drops to No. 15, which is very unlikely, he wouldn’t be the best player available.
This is not to say that Haskins isn’t a good prospect. A lot of this might seem like sheer negativity, but the hype train for Haskins has truly run off the rails, with some proclaiming him to be a better quarterback prospect than Josh Rosen was. Haskins is a good pocket passer who has a good feel in the pocket, and he’s able to dish the ball out to his weapons with proficiency. But his inability to elevate a unit, and his lack of developmental traits, sheds serious doubt on his value as a first-round pick.
Ultimately, the Redskins should not draft Dwayne Haskins. He won’t be a ‘mistake’ for someone else. He could very well flourish. No one knows how he, or anyone else, will perform at the next level. But based off of projections of traits, Haskins isn’t the kind of quarterback the Redskins should be looking for. First-round picks are investments into the future. You expect a return on your investment greater than your price paid up-front. With Haskins, there is no guarantee of return. It’s a pick for a chance of success now, when other quarterbacks might yield more success in the future.